How to Help 3rd Graders Deal with Test Stress
As children get older and begin to better understand the importance of achieving and maintaining good grades, some began to develop stress. More often than not, this anxiety takes place when they are faced with performing on a test. To help your 3rd grader deal with test stress, some helpful information and tips have been provided below.
Helping Your 3rd Grader Overcome Stress
Understanding Test Stress
Test stress often occurs when the pressure of taking a test affect students emotionally, psychologically or physically. Many times, this is caused by a fear of failure. Your 3rd grader may be afraid that not passing a test will lead to negative experiences, such as public ridicule, alienation from friends or disappointing his or her parents. This anxiety can lead to poor performance even if your child is capable of passing the test.
Helpful Tips
Practice and Prepare
If your third grader feels prepared, he or she may not experience that much stress on the day of a test. You can help develop his or her confidence by making sure your child studies on a consistent basis. You can even go a step further by locating practice tests he or she can complete before the real one.
Visualize Success
Help your child visualize success on the test. One way to accomplish this is to have him or her write a positive statement about passing the test. Then, place this statement in a spot where he or she will see it every day. Visualizing can also be done by having your 3rd grader close his or her eyes as you describe how success will look and feel. Alternatively, you can have your child provide the description by prompting him or her with specific questions.
Accept Mistakes
Letting your child know that it is okay to make mistakes will also help ease the stress. Because tests are usually an important part of his or her final grade, some students feel it is unacceptable to make mistakes. This self-induced pressure can cause them to miss questions they would've answered correctly if they weren't worrying about messing up. Therefore, it's important to let your child know making mistakes is a common occurrence for everyone and that it's okay.
Good Night's Rest
Making sure your 3rd grader gets proper rest before a test will also fight stress. A lack of sleep causes the mind and body to be weary. When this happens, students who deal with test stress have a much harder time controlling the problem.
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